How can one possibly say that depression is a gateway to inner peace? When we are depressed, it feels like peace is something only enjoyed by others – never by ourselves. We feel as though we are stuck in this state forever, destined to feel awful. We wake up with a feeling of dread and go to bed feeling the same way.

Yet we can view depression as an experience that can assist us to evolve and to become more whole. This state of being alerts us to the fact that we have disconnected from who we really are and that something is not right with the way we perceive our reality.

When we are fully connected and are comfortable with who we are, and have self-love – there is little room to experience discordance. Life flows in a positive direction and we experience a deep sense of inner wellbeing. In the moments when life does throw us a curve ball, we know how to positively reframe the experience.

Depression as a Gateway to Inner Peace

In this way, depression can be viewed as a gift. It forces us to journey within to root out the illusions and negative/false beliefs we have created about our self. From here, we can make changes to our self-beliefs and the way we interact with others and our environment.

In days gone past, certain indigenous cultures viewed ‘mental illness’ as a spiritual initiation. Members of the tribe sat in ceremony with the sufferer, supporting them while they processed the unintegrated aspects of self. They journeyed with them as they experienced a shamanic death i.e. the death of the ego. The person experienced rebirth and a stronger whole sense of self.

It is a shame that the modern world views depression as a weakness and shuns those who experience its symptoms, because love and understanding is the key to healing.

Many of us cannot know true happiness and joy until we have known the depths of despair. It takes an enormous amount of courage to delve into ourselves to unravel who we are. When we understand and accept the dark and light sides of our nature, we grow and evolve in the most profound ways possible.

When we come out the other side of this process we experience extraordinary self-love and peace. The experience of depression can be a key that unlocks this door.

Press the link below to give you a closer look at Teagan’s amazing course.

In our modern world, the conventional treatment for depression is via medication and engaging in therapy with a psychologist or psychiatrist. These conventional practices however, often only focus on the mind and emotions. A person with depression is encouraged to talk about how they feel and to explore solutions with the therapist. This approach can take years and many ‘clients’ remain stuck and frustrated in their experience of depression.

Depression is experienced not only in the mind and the emotions but also physically and spiritually. One needs to explore all of these aspects to allow effective healing to take place. The sufferer needs to be treated as a whole being. Profound changes will occur if they are guided correctly, with non-judgment and love.

If we positively reframe our perspective about depression we can help ourselves and others to obtain the peace that we desire.

Much love to you on your journey.

Teagan

Teagan is an International Yoga Teacher and Life Coach. She specialises in treating anxiety and depression. Click her to see her on online program ‘Conquer Your Depression With The Power of Yoga & Meditation’

What is love?” is perhaps one of the most pondered about questions of our existence. Is it a feeling? An emotion? Is it who we are? Is it something we all feel? Love can make us feel and do many different things in our lives and today we’re going to explore the idea that there may be two types of love: healthy love and unhealthy love.

Types of Love

To set up the context for this exploration, let’s quickly define what’s going on here. Generally we hear love defined as either conditional or unconditional. Conditional love would be loving something based on a certain set of conditions being met. i.e. “I only love this person if they do this for me, if they don’t, then I don’t love them.”

Unconditional love would be more so “regardless of your choices and the fact that they may have caused me to experience painful emotions, I still love you because I recognize the purpose of our journey.” Note, this does not mean unconditional love means sacrificing, staying in unhealthy relationships or abuse etc. It simply means the feeling of love is always there. Like a mother or father loving their child.

Healthy Love Versus Unhealthy Love

Leaving the ideas of conditional and unconditional love aside for a moment, let’s look at two types of love.

Unhealthy love can be seen as giving up aspects of yourself simply to please someone that you might be with. It can also come when you depend on the other person or need them for your own happiness or joy. Unhealthy love can be addictive and keep you locked up in stagnant periods of life where you use this form of love to avoid moving past your own challenges. Simply, unhealthy love is more about what the mind’s idea of love is. It can often involve playing games, manipulation, sacrifice and so on, all of which you will notice is quite draining to do, yet you can’t let it go.

Healthy love is something that is mutual between two people and no one gives themselves up to experience it. It is based on a feeling within versus what’s going on on the outside. It’s about allowing your partner to go through their own experiences and not judge them. Support them and understand them regardless of if they may have triggered a button within you. Together, you are open, can communicate and grow. You don’t need each other but simply work as a team to move through life.

How To Experience Healthy Love

The bottom line is, whatever experience you are having now is totally fine. Why? Because even if it isn’t entirely what you want, it plays the role of showing you how you feel when you are outside of your soul’s desires. Accept the experience you have right now and thank it for showing you another color of life.

To transform your experience of love, look at the many facets of unhealthy love and see if any apply to you. If they do, reflect on each piece and find the source of why you feel it’s there. For example if you feel you are addicted to your partner or need them around, ask yourself why that is. Writing things down and reflecting on it or talking to a person with experience in moving past the challenge can also help.

In the end you are looking to find out why you are feeding that need for the other person (or whatever challenge is unique to you). It could be because you don’t feel complete within yourself. It could be because of a past pain or reluctance to put yourself out there. Whatever the case may be, as you reflect and become aware of it you understand more about yourself and in turn can choose to move beyond it and process those emotions.

Yes you are right, I am missing my yoga retreat breakfast of Kitchari, so I have just made some, It is easy. Kitchari is a delicious and nutritive whole food from India that is known for its properties to detox the body and balance the three doshas (constitutions): Vata, Pitta and Kapha. This ayurvedic dish is used by yogis who want to cleanse the body and soul in a gentle manner, kitchari supply enough nutrients while removes toxins stored in bodily tissues and restores systemic balance.
Ayurveda believes that all healing begins with the digestive tract, and kitchari can give it a much-needed rest from constantly processing different foods while providing essential nutrients. Its mixture of spices is believed to kindle the digestive fire, the Ayurvedic description for your innate digestive power, which can be weakened by poor food combinations.
Kitchari is made with mung beans or lentils, basmati rice or barley, seasonal vegetables, ghee, and spices.
Add whatever seasonal vegetables you have on hand to complete the dish. Consider zuchini, burdock root, carrots, kale, spinach, sweet potato. The key is to use what’s available locally because Ayurveda is linked to the natural transition of the seasons. Go light on the salt in this recipe, allowing the natural flavours of vegetable stock.
Kitchari tastes like a cross between a creamy rice cereal and a light dal, or lentil soup. If it is a cold, blustery day or you are feeling under the weather, a steaming bowl of this classic Indian comfort food can both warm up your bones and restore sagging energy.
Ingredients:
1-cup basmati rice (I used black rice today as that is what I had!)
½ cup mung dal or lentils
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 teaspoons grated/minced ginger
1 chopped medium onion
3 teaspoons kitchari spice mix (cumin seeds, tumeric, mustard seeds, ginger, garam masala, natural mineral salt)
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
6 cups water
1-2 cups chopped vegetables
Cooking instructions:
Wash rice and mung dal and soak overnight
Drains soak water.
In a medium saucepan warm the ghee, saute the onion, garlic and ginger, add the kitchari spice mixture and sauté for one-two minutes. Add rice and mung beans and sauté for another couple of minutes. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. When kitchari has come to a boil reduce the heat to medium-low, cover an cook until it is tender, approximate 30-45 minutes. Add vegetables to your kitchari: the longer cooking such as carrots halfway through the coking and vegetables that cook faster such as leafy greens near the end. Add more water if needed.
Garnish with coriander and fresh grated ginger if you like and ENJOY